Wright warns program doomed before start | Councilman calls for higher fees, as mayor acknowledges 'slumlords'

Wright warns program doomed before start  | Councilman calls for higher fees, as mayor acknowledges 'slumlords'

ADELANTO — Mayor Pro Tem Jermaine Wright recently warned fellow City Councilmen that a rental inspection program would be doomed before it started if the city didn't rethink charging rental property owners higher fees.

The Council met June 10 to set the fee schedule for the program, which had been adopted May 13. The schedule called for an annual $95 fee for rental property owners, with $5 for each additional unit they owned. The cost covered the initial inspection and one re-inspection. If additional inspections were required, the rental owner would have to again pay $95.

Rental owners would also be expected to pay $25 for an annual registration fee, and could ultimately qualify for self-certification at $25 a year if they recorded no past violations for a period of two or three years.

"This method will allow the city to recover costs associated with additional site inspections and provide incentives for Housing Unit managers to keep units in compliance so additional inspections are reduced," a city staff report said.

But during the June 10 meeting, Wright pushed back against the fee schedule for not being revenue neutral and for cutting "ourselves short on fees."

"This will be another program that is good for our residents ... that we'll have to shut down because we didn't have the ability to look forward and say, 'hey, we're going to lose money,'" he said.

Wright's protest came even as the city found that neighboring municipalities Hesperia and Apple Valley charge lower fees than $95 per year. In Hesperia, the city charges $65 for the initial inspection and $4 per unit after the fourth unit, the staff report said.

Hesperia also charges $85 for re-inspections, plus $5 per unit after the fourth unit. Rental owners could be hit with administrative fines up to $500 per violation per day if the property is cited for a public nuisance after two inspections.

The town of Apple Valley, meanwhile, charges $50 for the initial inspection and maintains no extra fees for additional units, the report said. The town also charges $75 for re-inspections and moves to enforcement action after the third inspection.

Yet Wright argued that those municipalities had adequate cash to float their programs, saying at least four staff members would be required to shepherd Adelanto's program as he stood by his belief that $95 just wouldn't cut it.

"These fees are incorrect for what we're dealing with in this city," he said. "I don't care what's going on in all the others."

At the urging of Wright, Adelanto's staff were directed to review the fees and possibly propose a different schedule to return to the Council next month.

Mayor Rich Kerr agreed with Wright, adding that the program will ultimately give renters a tool to ensure fairness.

"There are a few slumlords out there," Kerr concluded, "that are taking advantage of the renters out there."